Across Japan with just a smartphone for money

The Telegraph puts hi-tech payments to the ultimate test.

Most of us don't leave the house without checking that we have our keys, wallet and phone. But soon our pockets may be a little lighter.

Michael Fitzpatrick had no trouble at the station - an Oyster-like system has been operating for years on all Tokyo trains

New technology will let us leave our wallets behind and pay for goods and services with our mobile phones.

Last week, Barclays launched its Pingit mobile app, which allows users to send money to other bank accounts via their smartphones. But by the summer the e-wallet in your mobile may have even more applications – allowing people to pay in shops, bars and restaurants by simply tapping their phone on an electronic pay point. Paying with cards or cash may soon become as quaint as using a chequebook.

To do this smartphones need to be equipped with wireless "NFC" chips to enable them to communicate with special cash registers. It's rumoured that the next iPhone, and the iPad3 will have this capability. By securely filling your phone with electronic cash, you'll be free to pay for goods and services in thousands of establishments as early as this summer.

Orange has just introduced its "QuickTap" service payment with Barclaycard in 5,000 high street outlets, and is claiming such services will start "a revolution in the way we pay for things on the high street". Meanwhile, Google's smartphone payment system, Google Wallet, is thought to be launching in the UK in time for the Olympics. PayPal is also twitching in the wings and is expected to launch its own wireless instant payments service soon.

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Such services have existed here and there in the UK for a while now, but the system has yet to meet critical mass as there are too few enabled phones and e-wallet readers, according to Zilvinas Bareisis, an analyst at financial services specialist Celent. "Retailers are playing a watching game; seeing how it will develop," he said.

But mobile-wallets have now been available in Japan for more than six years, so it is an ideal place to see how this technology works.

Over 70 million people in Japan own tap-and-go phones, and their use is on the rise. The country's rulers and other vested interests have pushed the new technology hard so a robust network is now in place. However, despite the availability of this technology, this is still a country that loves cash – and plastic cards, particularly the dreaded foreign visa/debit card, can be looked on askance.

So where better to set a challenge to test this new payments set-up? Could I get from one side of Japan to the other and survive, if not thrive, while packing no plastic or cash, just my trusty keitai mobile?

The first test is a taxi to the railway station. This was easy, as most of Japan's cabbies carry an e-wallet reader and require no tip. Ditto the station, where an Oyster-like system has been operating for years on all Tokyo trains. I just swiftly pass my glossy, AU smartphone over the gate as I go.

I can load up to £400 on the phone – small change by Japanese standards – and check my spending on screen at each swipe. Top ups can be made online via Visa card or using cash at one of Japan's ubiquitous convenience stores. Feeling thirsty on the platform, I'm able even to persuade one of Japan's omnipresent vending machines to cough up a coffee using my phone.

At the airport, boarding was going to be a snap as I had downloaded an app that talked to airline ANA's Skip service, allowing use of the phone as ticket and boarding pass. This is an excellent idea, as I merely needed to tap the phone once on a kiosk at check-in, again at security, and lastly at the gate, I tap and board.

The phone-wallet doesn't even have to be switched on to work; so no worries about dead batteries. Tickets can be bought on the ANA website and then automatically loaded onto your phone at a click. Even with luggage, in the super-efficient Haneda airport, my mobile has saved me time and trouble in spades – I'm checked in and ready to board in around 10 minutes.

"The major drawback of flying compared to train travel is of course the time spent at the airport," pointed out ANA's Ryosei Nomura, "with ANA's all-in-one ticket and boarding pass in your phone you can arrive and board your plane within 15 minutes."

That was not all that was zippy. A takeaway tempura lunch for two at the airport was the next job for the phone. Again, not difficult as there are thousands of restaurants in Japan that recognise mobile wallets. Unfortunately, there are also thousands that don't. The UK will have to do better if the idea of leaving wallets, cash and cards at home is to take off.

There are also problems with compatibility. Some readers don't recognise some phones and vice versa. This will have to change says Mr Bareisis. Industries will need to co-operate and design their platforms so they can be used by each other, he said: "Ideally there should be one [mobile] operator, one bank, one phone. We need broader scale and interoperability."

After arriving in Japan's northern capital, Sapporo, by plane I discovered payment by phone was available in some unlikely places, such as the ski lifts at Japan's prime ski resort in Niseko. If I stood close enough to the NFC reader at the ticket office I could avoid frostbite incurred taking the phone out of my breast pocket to pay.

And with wireless enabled barriers at the ski lifts the phone became my ski pass, too. Groceries, also, were no problem with the country's countless convenience stores wired for mobile payments.

Paying for accommodation by phone wasn't any problem either. One hotel in Kyoto even allowed me to use the phone as a room key. So no more fiddling around for keys or cards is another benefit derived from our increasingly able smartphones.

Of course the main downside is that losing such a device would be catastrophic. But many feel that way about their phones already. Cancelling debit/credit agreements would be simply another headache to deal with should you lose your inflexible friend. Fortunately, like credit cards, this can be taken care of with one phone call – on a good Samaritan's mobile, presumably.

But it wasn't all plain sailing. One seafood place in Niseko I wanted to eat at didn't have this payment technology, so I was forced to alter my plans. Interestingly though, it was a foreign-owned establishment and he claimed never to have heard of this technology. Currently I am staying in a more traditional part of Tokyo, where again there are far fewer places – particularly restaurants – that will let me pay by phone.

Life in the age of the e-wallet may be more convenient. But just don't forget to take your smartphone with you when you leave the house.